Chihiro's Choices
by VashandNaomiForever
Summary: At age 17, Chihiro is forced into making the decision to leave her realm for the spirit world. Her life choices have made it so that she feels that there isn't any other option. She goes to find safety and acceptance from her friends, the choices she makes while in this world once more will effect others along with herself. R&R if you're intrigued.
1. Chapter 1

Chihiro was in trouble, deep enough trouble that her options had led her to the place she was suppose to never go back to. She had kept her promise to 'never look back' for seven years now, and it was now her final 'positive' option. Her parents would never understand, they'd be disappointed and always see her as a little slut, she couldn't go back to them, not with the knowledge that they'd more than likely hate her forever.

Chihiro had been doing what typical teenagers do when they were her age, she was having sex. It had started out as a stupid crush, on the librarian assistant who was a hot college student, his name was Koga. He'd been so friendly, his smile was dimpled and charming, his hair was gelled and styled in an adorable spiky manner, and he liked the same kind of books she enjoyed reading! They were both into fantasy, he'd suggest books for her, and she'd do the same to him. It had been a purely friendly relationship until one evening...

She was the last one at the library, he had been in charge that day of the building, his higher up had gone home sick. So he let her stay longer than usual, they talked of books and recent songs that had been playing on the radio, when suddenly he kissed her! It surprised the crap out of Chihiro!

She'd been taken off guard, pulling back first and blushing like a rose in June, staring into those bright green eyes he had and feeling her stomach ache in an odd way.

He was starting to apologize when she kissed him, dropping her books to the ground as her little arms wrapped around his slender neck. They fumbled about, until he had them against one of the large desks, he lifted her upon the desk and started to grope her, making her internally uneasy, but she also didn't want the guy to think of her as a prude. So she let him. It was fine at first, and somewhat nice, but then his hands started to do things she wasn't comfortable with.

Her brown shorts she had been wearing, had a hand down them, he was lifting up her underwear and attempting to take his fingers down there! She pushed him back at that point, looking at him wearily.

"Chihiro." He spoke her name with so much husk, so much desire, his eyes seemed to be weaving a spell into her as she felt her body give in and relax, he smiled at that and started to take her shorts completely off.

It had been so strange, letting him touch her when mentally she was thinking that she shouldn't, that she should be leaving before it got too far...Yet something kept her there, whether it was hormones or stubbornness, Chihiro would never truly know.

He'd done it to her, took her right there on that library desk. He said he'd pulled out just in time, that nothing had gotten in her, but now she knew that had been a _big_, _fat_ _lie_. Last week her period hadn't come, and she was freaking out about it, wondering if maybe they'd done enough to cause her to be...Late at night, she snuck out of her bedroom window, thanking God that she hadn't fallen out of the damn thing, and had gone over to a pharmacy and picked up a test.

That result had brought her to this option. She couldn't deal with the real world consequences of her actions, and so she would travel to another world to deal with her mistake, her _accident_. It had been seven years, but she remembered everything as if it were only yesterday when it happened. She still believed, and only hoped that because she did believe, that it would gain her access to the other side. To the bathhouse for the spirits, to Kamaji and his boiler, to Lin and her sarcastic sense of humor, and of course, to Haku.

Would he still be a child? How did things age within that realm? Was Yubaba still in charge of the bathhouse? Had her son gotten out of his baby stage? So many questions ran through her imaginative mind, making it easy to forget about her own growing problem as she continued to walk towards the 'abandoned theme park'.

The sun was beginning to set as she quickened her pace, traveling past the dried up riverbed, walking past the little shops and food stands that, for now, looked abandoned and empty.

Chihiro knew better though, soon the lanterns would light and things would change drastically around here. Her little feet clicked along the bridge, standing the same way she had when she first met Haku. Well, when she first met him in his spirit human form, she hadn't counted the almost drowning incident. Her dark eyes gazed up towards the bathhouse, her braided hair blowing back from a breeze as she waited to see the smoke that would start wafting from the building.

She wasn't disappointed, after a while the smoke appeared, and as she began to look around herself, she noticed the lanterns starting to appear. The buildings, once abandoned, were coming to life again, voices and other sounds going on throughout the entire shop area.

She was patient, watching with enjoyment as her surroundings were turning into a place people would only read about in books, or watch on television. It was magic, and she loved it! Her heart feeling less weighted over her own concerns as she watched everything turn into the spirit world.

A whooshing sound, followed by a creaking from the wooden bridge made her turn towards the bathhouse. Her eyes stared unbelieving at a face she knew well, her long lashes blinking quickly at the shock of actually seeing him.

His face wasn't round like that of a child, it was longer now, leaner. He had a nice jaw line, his lips were lightly curved into an unbelieving smile. His brown hair was no longer a childish bowl cut style, it was shorter, crew cut with his bangs styled to part at the side, a much more adult look for the river spirit. His clothing was traditional, robes of a higher standard than what he had previously worn. Robes of a medium blue color with intricate gold and silver designs throughout the material, it looked very flattering on the long, lean young man that stood before her.

What do you say to someone you hadn't seen or spoken to for seven long years? Sorry I didn't write, the post office couldn't deliver to the 'spirit world'. You were missed, _all of you were_, I thought of you when a boy tried to win my heart over, none of them could ever know me like you did. Too bad I didn't think of you when Koga...Her thoughts paused, her eyes feeling watery as she looked at Haku with sad, big eyes.

"Chihiro." He said her name, bringing a spark to her aching heart as he made the first step towards her.

"You remember." Chihiro said somewhat as a joke, looking at him with a soft, lightly sad smile as he moved closer to her. He was inches away now, looking at her with mirth and fondness.

"I'd never forget you." He spoke to her, before grabbing her with unearthly speed and hugging her body to him. She hugged him back, burying her face into his robed chest and breathing in his magical scent of jasmine.

"I never stopped thinking about you." She admitted to him, holding on a bit longer before pulling back. They gazed at one another, star struck with each other, when a very loud, very sudden yell caught both their attention.

"Chihiro!" Lin hailed her friend, rushing over to the couple and grabbing the young woman Chihiro now was, and hugging her tightly.

"I knew we'd see each other again!" Lin praised her friend, she pulled back from their embraced and looked over her now grown pal. "Damn Chihiro, you got _gorgeous_! Look at yourself! I never thought you'd grow much at all, but thank goodness you did! Haku, you've lucked out!" She spoke teasingly to the young man watching them, the fellow rolled his eyes at the lady's playful comment.

"So what brings you back? Are you ready to settle down already?" Lin teased Chihiro, making the young woman blush and cough awkwardly.

"_Lin_." Haku spoke her name warningly, noticing Chihiro's unease at the question.

"I've come for my own reasons, for now can we all just get together and visit?" She inquired, looking over at Haku, assuming he had the authority to make something like that happen.

"Of course, you'll need to eat something soon to stay, Lin go get her something really quick, I'll start preparing everything for Chihiro's return dinner." Haku smiled and clasped the young woman's hand, squeezing it before he left them to set everything into motion.

"Alright lady, lets get you some grub!" Lin patted Chihiro on the back heartily as they moved towards the bathhouse, Chihiro was greeted by many others as she walked among the servants and other workers, getting a wave from the Radish Spirit as well as Lin lead them towards the kitchen.

"Alright, here's a rice ball, snack on that while Haku gets his ass in gear and gathers everyone." Lin smiled as her young friend ate, watching the human woman with eagle like eyes, scrutinizing her.

"You're _different_." She commented on the obvious.

"It's been seven years." Chihiro laughed, looking at Lin with a raised brow, "What'd you expect, I'd still be little?"

"Well no, I figured that you'd be about Haku's age, since you two are kinda tied together. I just sense something else about you." She tisked, wishing she knew what it was.

"Well, I'm sure it's just different, seeing me this way." Chihiro shrugged, trying to not be bothered by Lin's quizzical gaze.

"You've got a _secret_, don't _you_?" Lin spoke up, making Chihiro cough and choke on her food, making Lin laugh as she patted the other girl's back.

"I _knew_ it! _Tell me_?!" Lin urged, Chihiro wasn't coughing anymore but she felt like throwing up, imagining herself admitting her folly to the people who thought so highly of her. No, she couldn't, not now.

"It's nothing!" She insisted, Lin giving her an unimpressed look.

"Sure, I believe that." Lin said sarcastically, thankfully they were interrupted by Haku's abrupt presence.

"Alright, everything is set. Lets go." He held out his hand for Chihiro, making her blush lightly as she took it. All three of them walked until they entered a large room with a long table in it, filled with food and drink along with familiar faces!

Kamaji was there, his scruffy mustached face smiling happily at Chihiro's arrival. There was also Yubaba's son! He was more childlike and less babyish, his size still enormous. He wore similar clothes to how Haku use to dress, his chubby cute face smiling up at Chihiro fondly.

"Hello!" Chihiro greeted the two, looking around for perhaps Noface or Granny, yet not seeing them anywhere.

"You're appearance was so sudden, I couldn't get them here from Swamp Bottom that quickly." Haku seemed to have read her mind, making her blush again and nod in understanding.

Chihiro sat down and started talking with everyone, listening to their stories with deep interest. Apparently Haku was keeping Yubaba in line, she still ran the bathhouse but she wasn't as mean to the help anymore. Apparently the lady still held somewhat of a grudge against Chihiro, that was why she wasn't there with the rest of them. It bothered Chihiro little, having no love or hate towards the ornery old woman.

When asked about herself, she answered sparingly, telling them she had recently graduated, that she had gotten along fine at her new school and new home.

"Chihiro, why did you come back?" Kamaji asked of her, the young woman was uneasy as she tried to think of a reasonable answer. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, she looked to see Haku gazing at her understandingly.

"Whatever the reason, we're glad you came." He cleared the air, relieving Chihiro greatly as they talked of other things, daily happenings that were humorous around the bathhouse.

"We had an actual stink spirit show up, and Yubaba was trying to kiss up to him to get more money, and he accidentally pushed her into the filthy tub with her! Funniest thing I've ever seen!" Lin laughed at the memory, Chihiro imagined such a silly thing happening to the uptight old lady and she couldn't help but laugh along with them.

"After that incident, she doesn't come down here nearly as often as she use to." Haku chuckled lightly, finding Yubaba's pain or discomfort comical.

After many hours of talking and enjoying each others company, Chihiro started to yawn, feeling tired. Haku excused themselves as he helped her up, leading her away from the waving, knowing eyed group of friends, towards his own quarters.

His resting chambers were a floor below Yubaba's, large wooden door with dragon knockers attached to them opened for the two friends, closing magically behind them as he led her over to the balcony. The both stood quietly, gazing out at the lights of the shops and enjoying the peaceful moment.

"I know, that you're wondering why I came, Haku." Chihiro began keeping her gaze on the lights as she spoke, "I have come here, to stay, if you'll allow it. I can no longer stay with my parents. Please don't ask me why, just know that I can't go back to them." Her voice wavered a bit towards the end, uncertain if he'd want her to stay within this realm for good.

"Chihiro, are you in trouble?" He asked, worried look on his face as he gazed at her, making her feel guilty.

"I can't tell you, Haku, please understand." She pleaded with him, getting an uncertain look from the river spirit before he sighed, nodding his head in agreement.

"What will you do here, Chihiro? I don't want you to to make a contract with Yubaba and get stuck in the bathhouse again." He informed her.

"I kinda liked working the bathhouse, besides, I wouldn't let her take my name from me." She reassured the other.

"What would you let her take then? Your memories from your childhood?" He shook his head unhappily. "You could find another job. Maybe you could...No, you'd think it silly."

"What?" She smiled at him, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"You could work for me, help me run parts of the bathhouse and learn magic from me." He offered hesitantly, her eyes were huge in wonder.

"You could teach me magic?! But I'm a human!" She scoffed.

"You can learn it, we have a connection after all, that will make it easier to teach you. Also, you get to run errands around the bathhouse for me when I'm busy doing other work. What do you say, Chihiro?" He waited, wondering what her answer would be.

"Yes!" She squealed excitedly, hugging him suddenly and making the river spirit blush.

"Chihiro, I hope I can make you happy here, but if you _aren't_ happy, you can _always_ return to the human world, I'll understand." He assured her, watching with light amusement as she rolled her eyes at the idea of leaving.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm not planning on going anywhere." She smiled assuredly at her friend, he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"So, where do I sleep?" She inquired, stepping away from the balcony to walk around his large and well decorated room.

"I..." He began, his face having a funny expression of nervousness upon it, a sight she'd never seen on the confident fellow.

"I have a bed for you within my chambers. I've kept it there in case...in case you returned." He admitted to her, making Chihiro feel very flattered.

"Well, where is it?" She asked him, following the young man as she strode past her, towards a low lit part of his room. Haku stopped next to a purple colored bed, with beautiful flower designs along the soft material.

"This is for me?" She gaped, looking at the beautiful covers with awe.

"Yes, I hope you like it." He commented, watching her sit on the mattress and test out the springs.

"This is amazing! Here, sit next to me Haku." She called to him, pleased when the other squatted and sat beside her, smiling softly as he watched her lightly bounce her rump against the mattress.

"Springy!" She commented, stopping her actions and leaning back to lay on it, looking up at the clear colored ceiling. Haku did the same, laying back and holding her hand as he did so, making her gasp a bit.

"Chihiro, I know this is going to be a...a silly question, but did you have a boyfriend in the human world?" He waited patiently, the girl beside him going very stiff, uncertain how to answer him.

"Boys tried to grab my attention, but none of them felt connected to me the way you were...I never really dated. Then I met a librarian assistant, he was nice to me and we'd talk about fantasy books, stories we both enjoyed. Koga was his name, he was the closest thing to a boyfriend I've ever had, but he wasn't _really_ my boyfriend." She paused, sighing and taking her free hand to rest it on her flat stomach.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed, Haku could tell there was something that happened between Chihiro and this boy that hadn't ended pleasantly.

"Did he kiss you?" He had to ask her, the girl feeling odd emotions inside her as she tried to hold back the tears wanting to flow.

"Yes." She answered him truthfully, she didn't want to lie to Haku, if she could help it.

"Did he do something wrong?" Haku was beginning to ask harder questions.

"He is apart of why I am here, if that's what you're meaning. I don't want to lie to you Haku, so please stop asking anything more. I just can't talk about it right now. Do you understand?" She looked towards him, holding his hand still and squeezing it warmly.

"I do." He answered her, noticing the way her eyes were trying not to water. He didn't want to cause her pain in any way, so he'd let the subject drop for now, but he was still worried.

-0-0-

The spirit world had entrances and exits all over, you just had to know where to look. And some spirits were able to travel back and forth through both human and spirt realms, easily. Koga was closing up the library again, his hands locking the doors from the inside as he went to walk over towards the stairs leading up. There was a little visited shelf, filled with old books resting upon the shelves as he reached with a long, lean arm to pull out one. Where the book had been, a blue glow was emitting, casting strange shadows along the other shelf behind him as he smiled. His green eyes glowed oddly as his hand reached inside the blue glow, his body shirking and getting sucked magically into the void. Soon the man was gone, the library completely empty now.

Koga was not a human, in fact, he was a spirit. He was the spirit of the Koga River, a river that got dumped into by the Kohaku, that was until the Kohaku got filled in. He resented the river that had been a constant trespasser upon his territory, had laughed when the fool of a spirit forgot his stupid name and was the salve of Yubaba. But his laughter hadn't lasted long, for one day a little girl freed the enslaved river spirit, and now Haku, he still went by that nick name, was practically in charge of the entire bathhouse! His spiritual magic growing stronger every day, pissing off the Koga river spirit who wanted the other to still suffer.

When the spirit had asked around, he heard that Kohaku had been saved by the power of love. The love of the little girl. The girl that had freed her parents and had gone back to her own realm.

Koga had taken his time, thinking of a way to hurt Haku, when he decided on something very underhanded and deplorable. The girl had grown now, she was at the age where stupid young humans were not in control of their hormones, making them vulnerable.

He had started out gentle, befriending the young woman, getting her to like him more with a drop of magic here and there. When he'd had his chance to take what he wanted of her, it had been more challenging than he'd thought. Her mind had been warning her to leave, Koga had to use quite a bit of his powers to convince her to stay, to relax her body so that he could deposit within her.

With any luck she'd birth him a stream spirit, perhaps a creek. Either way she was connected to him now, whatever tie she had with stupid Haku would be less powerful now, their connection was the reason the river spirit was so prosperous, Koga just knew it! When Chihiro gave birth to his creation, her soul would belong to Koga, making his luck and powers much more prosperous than Haku.

He was flying now, his body no longer human, his form long and lean, with black scales and dark purple fur along his back. His green eyes held smug amusement as he flew to his ancient tower, distantly away from the bathhouse as he perched his long body along the stone tower. He'd wait for the right moment, wouldn't the girl be so surprised to see him? He'd come in his human form first, and only change into his dragon form if he needed to. Things in the spirit world were going to change, change for the better in Koga's eyes, and once they did, he'd be the proud and confident one, not Haku! Haku would be nothing once his Chihiro was taken from him.

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.


	2. Chapter 2

Yubaba knew of Chihiro's return, and wasn't pleased at hearing the news. She had bested Yubaba by guessing correctly during her challenge, freeing herself and the brats parents too! Ever since that day, things had been different around the bathhouse, Haku had his memories back, and was no longer under her control.

He was strong enough because of Chihiro's love, that he was able to bully her into being nice all the time! No longer yelling at the stupid servants, no longer turning people who ate the spirit food into pigs, giving the humans a fright only so that they'd leave with their tail between their legs. Yubaba was sick and tired of being so nice!

She even got pushed around by her baby, her baby that had began to grow into a kid, another after effect from the little brat known as Chihiro. Her magic just wasn't strong enough to counter act against the love and friendship she had created among the people around here, frustrating Yubaba to no end!

She was busily writing up tallies from last nights earnings, when a knock came to her door.

"Who is it now?!" She huffed, taking her finger and opening the large door magically. A tiny, green servant frog hopped over to the irritable witch, carrying a scroll in his webbed hand.

"A message, ma'am." The frog handed the pissy woman the paper, the elderly witch taking out her glasses to read the script with clearer eyes.

'_Yubaba,_

_I have watched from afar as your control over the bathhouse has diminished, I wish to inform you that soon changes will occur in your favor. Haku will get what is due to him, I have set things in motion. If you would like to know who your ally is against Haku, you'll find me at the abandoned tower, east of your home.'_

The note wasn't even signed! This had her attention, making her halt all other money counting as she started to put away her glasses.

"You can leave now." She ordered the still staring frog, the creature shrugged and started to hop away from the witch.

Yubaba took the note and burned it, just in case it came into contact with Haku. Her steps lead her to the balcony, her form changing into that of a giant bird as she took off into the air. She'd find out who this supposed ally was, and see just what the person had planned for that bastard Haku.

-0-0-

"Chihiro, hold your hand like this, and repeat after me." Haku was trying hard to be patient, knowing that for some people magic was hard to do. His Chihiro was having a very hard time with it, holding her hand the right way but saying the words incorrectly, making it not work at all. He was about to just call it a day, when she actually created blue flames out of thin air!

"Excellent, Chihiro!" Haku praised her, the girl smiled proudly as she held the flame carefully in her palm.

"It doesn't even burn!" She commented, making her teacher chuckle lightly.

"No, it will only burn what you will it to burn." He informed her, watching as she began to look about for something to light with her fire.

"Maybe you should wait, controlling it while the flames attack something takes a lot of concentration." He halted her fire, taking his hand and placing it over hers, snuffing out the flame easily.

"Aww." She lightly wined, looking a bit disappointed with their lesson's end.

"Don't worry, we'll do another lesson tomorrow." He promised her, making the brunette smile.

"How would you like to visit Swamp Bottom? We could go visit with Zeneba." Haku offered, Chihiro nodded excitedly as they began to leave his chamber, a knock at the door paused them. Haku let go of her hand to open the door to a very disgruntled looking frog man.

"Master Haku! The rabbit spirit is causing a giant ruckus down in the baths!" He complained to the sighing young man. "He tried nibbling on the radish spirit's arm and made him very upset!"

"Alright, I'll go have a talk with them. Chihiro, wait here, I'll be right back." Haku turned towards her, his eyes apologetic as he left with the frazzled frog man.

Chihiro knew he was busy, and tried hard not to mind him leaving. Her time spent here so far had dealt with a lot of waiting around already. The river spirit she was suppose to work for, kept holding off his assignments for her to take care of problems within the busy bathhouse. Maybe it was better to have Yubaba run it, that'd at least give Haku some more free time. But that'd also mean she'd be mean to the servants again, and they didn't need that kind of treatment.

Sighing, she leaned against the railing outside on the balcony, looking out into the distance and silently wondering how much time had passed in the human world. Had her mom and dad noticed her missing? Were they calling the police? Did Koga notice she wasn't hanging around the library anymore? They hadn't talked afterwords, she hadn't had the guts to look him in the face again after doing that with him, and when she found out her current issue, Chihiro hadn't bothered confronting him. What good would it have done? None. She didn't know how being in this world would effect her condition. Would it just go away? No, she'd never get that lucky. Would it grow inside her faster than normal? That'd be scary, and hard to hide from Haku.

Their relationship was very close, they loved each other unconditionally, but had yet to make their relationship more than just friendly. She could easily see within his eyes that he wanted to be affectionate, and he did hug her and hold her hand a lot, but you could tell he was holding back, wanting more but being gentle and waiting for her permission. A permission that was never asked of or given to Koga, the jerk...

It wasn't as if Chihiro hadn't thought about it, leaning in and kissing him, but she was hesitant. She didn't want him to think that she kissed boys with ease, because now he knew she'd kissed the other boy, maybe he'd consider her actions too eager.

"Paranoid, you're being paranoid," she spoke to herself, shaking her head at thinking too much about what should have been a simple act of love.

"Did you say something?" Haku called, coming back sooner than she thought.

"It was nothing." She blushed, "Ready to go?"

Haku took her hand in his, "Ready to fly with me?" He asked her, watching as she nodded eagerly at him. He concentrated and soon, they were floating, lifting up into the air and moving with the wind Haku controlled about them. He picked up their speed, zooming them faster towards the direction of Swamp Bottom.

-0-0-

She landed her heavy, bird like body atop of the crumy looking tower. Her large eyes looked about her, searching for the writer of her note.

"Ah, so you've come." A male voice was heard, the witch looked downward to see a spiky haired spirit poking his head out of a window.

"Come in, Yubaba." He addressed her casually, ducking his head in so that she could fly inside the windows opening.

With heavy wings, she lifted off and hovered down, gliding and fitting rather snugly into the window. She changed form while perched on the window's edge, hopping down with a heavy thud as she eyed the spirit who wanted to cause Haku problems.

"My name is Koga, I'm a river spirit." He introduced himself, his green eyes watching her with amusement, lightly annoying the easily irritable witch.

"I know _what_ you are, I work with spirits all the time. What I don't know is why you want to help me. What do you gain by Haku losing his hold over the bathhouse?" She questioned him.

"Haku was once a river that ran into mine, he was not wanted, but still he trespassed within my river like he had the right to go wherever he pleased, the smug bastard. He deserves to be knocked down a few pegs, so I only am interested in watching his fall, money means little to me." He assured her, her body becoming less tense at that announcement.

"Well, what did you have going?" She inquired, feeling more inclined to be involved now that she knew he didn't desire any of her money.

"You've noticed a familiar visitor has arrived, one I imagine you're not too pleased to see again." He smirked, watching her face go sour at the thought of Chihiro.

"What of it?" She snipped, crossing her arms defensively.

"She comes for a reason, a reason made by me. She's not as she seems, this time around, she has been tainted by me, and soon her powerful bond with Haku will be broken, making his powers much weaker. Weak enough that you'll be able to tell him what to do once more." Koga chuckled at the thought, his guest had a interested look upon her old, wrinkled face.

"Their bond broken, you say? What'd you do, curse the little girl?" She snorted, pleased with the idea.

"Better, I gave her a part of myself, it's growing inside her this very minute, I can sense it even this far away." He gazed out the window, concentrating on the piece of him within the body of Chihiro.

"Ha ha ha!" Yubaba started laughing hysterically, slapping her knee while doing so. "You knocked her up!" She stated the fact, he nodded and was treated to more laughter from the humor filled witch.

"Ah, even I couldn't have thought of a better way to break their bond! This will be an entertaining victory!" She chuckled, very amused with how things were going to play out.

"When the time is right, I will come for her. She's mine, Yubaba, know that before you start plotting over what you'd like to do to her." He warned the witch, halting her laughter.

"But she made me so angry!" Yubaba pouted, the river spirit only raised a brow at her comment, uncaring of her feelings on the matter, "Well fine! Keep the girl for all I care, so long as I get my bathhouse back to the way it was." She humphed.

"So, we've an arrangement then." He received a confirming nod.

"Yes, I have to get going, he might notice I've been gone, but before I leave, how long do we have before she pops?" The witch asked of her new ally.

"Four months, though I'm coming for her before then, I want to make sure my growing offspring inside her comes out safely." He told her, the witch nodded with satisfaction as she began to transform back into a giant bird.

With a hop, she was hovering in the air, exiting the towers window without even saying goodbye. No matter, they had a common goal, that goal was going to be obtained very soon. Good manners mattered little to Koga, so long at the old witch kept her word and let him take the girl. Haku was going to be pitiful and weak, unable to keep his Chihiro any longer, he'll just have to watch as she's whisked away by Koga, unable to stop the spirit from taking what was rightfully his.

-0-0-

"Granny!" Chihiro hailed the awaiting woman below them. Haku set them down gently, watching as his Chihiro was hugged happily by the awaiting witch, Yubaba's sister. Noface stood beside the witch, waving happily at Chihiro as she was hugged.

"Noface, I'm glad you're still here!" She greeted the spirit, giving him a friendly bow before bursting with lots of questions for the gray haired Granny.

"What have you been up to since I've been away? Why haven't you been to the bathhouse? Did you speak with your sister since I've been gone?" Were a few of the questions she had. Granny had questions of her own, wondering what had brought Chihiro back to the spirit world.

"Chihiro." Haku called to her, halting the two female's conversation, "I sense something amiss at the bathhouse, I need to check up on something, would you mind staying here for a little while?" He asked of her.

"Of course, go. Granny and I have a lot of catching up to do." Chihiro smiled reassuringly, watching as he took off hurriedly to fly back to the bathhouse.

"Alright, Chihiro. Haku isn't here anymore, so you can spill the beans. I sensed it about you, Sweetie. I know what burden you're carrying." Granny eyed her young friend seriously, watching as the brunette stared shockingly at her.

"It's alright, just start from the beginning." She held the young woman's trembling hands, watching as Chihiro's long dark lashes blinked back teary eyes.

"Oh Granny!" She cried out, wrapping her arms around the gentle hearted witch, "Please don't tell him!" She pleaded.

"Shush, it's alright, I'm not going to say anything to anyone, just tell me how this happened. You haven't been here long enough for it to be Haku's." Granny commented, making Chihiro's cheeks burn red in embarrassment.

"Well, it all started when..."

-0-0-

After Chihiro finished her story, Granny patted her gently on the shoulder. "Can you help me?" The young woman asked of her witch friend.

"I'm sorry Chihiro, I don't do magic like that. You'll have to solve this problem in another way." She informed her red eyed looking companion, throughout the telling of her story, the girl had cried. For now the tears were all gone, but her face was heavy with a helpless sadness.

"Granny, what should I do?" She asked for the witch's advice.

"This is your path, Chihiro. No one can tell you how to choose it, the choices ahead of you are tough ones, but they are yours alone. No one can tell you which one to pick, it's all up for your heart to decide." She gave her the only words of wisdom that she had.

"Look, your Haku is returning." Granny pointed into the sky, the lean young man was coming in fast, landing quickly to the earth and holding a concerned look on his young face.

"What's wrong?" Chihiro asked, concerned for her friend.

"The bathhouse, there's just lots of problems going on. I need your help with all of them, Chihiro." He took hold of her hand and said a quick goodbye to Yubaba's sister.

"I'll visit again soon!" Chihiro promised before the took to the sky, Haku was flying even faster this time, holding her closer to him, his arms around her in an embrace as he whipped through the wind, willing it to get them back to the bathhouse as soon as possible.

-0-0-

The bathhouse was in an uproar, spirits were acting out, causing chaos and mishap everywhere within the place of business, Haku wasn't enough to stop _all_ of them. He had hoped Chihiro could help calm the riled up spirits, she'd been good at working with them when she was small.

They were greeted by servants rushing towards them, pleading for assistance with many different troublesome spirit clients. Chihiro was overwhelmed by the amount of chaos going on around her, Haku took a strong hand and guided her past the servants, heading towards the nearest spirit having a temper tantrum.

It was a tree spirit, it's branches were reaching out and whipping at near by help that was trying to make the angry thing happy. Chihiro noticed that its bark was growing a funny red fungus, when she asked Haku if that was normal, he shook his head, no.

"I think it's mad because you're trying to feed it when it needs that weird red fungus removed. Do you have like a fungus treatment to clear it's bark up with?" She asked one of the frog faced men, the man's eyes widened in realization, nodding his head yes and hurrying over to fetch the kind of ointment that would sooth the enraged spirit.

Haku and Chihiro waited there until the tree spirit was calmer, having received what it had truly needed. They moved onward, to the next conflicted spirit.

This time it was the radish spirit, and he was at odds with the rabbit spirit again! The rabbit had his mouth around the huge arm of the radish spirit, they were acting as if playing tug of war with one another. Chihiro walked up to the unhappy spirits, placing a lightly shaking hand on the large body of the rabbit spirit, he was even bigger than the radish spirit, making him a bit scary to approach.

"Excuse me, Mr. Rabbit Spirit, but your hurting my friend. Can you let him go please? We can feed you anything else, just not paying customers like Mr. Radish Spirit over there." She gestured to the deeply frowning radish man, the rabbit paused it's pulling. It slowly opened its mouth, letting loose of the radish arm and turned to look the brave girl directly in the face.

"Thank you." She bowed her head to the spirit, the rabbit made a strange humph sound and hopped over to his awaiting bath, acting as if he were pouting.

"Are you okay?" She asked the radish, watching as he made funny clicking sounds and kept gesturing rudely at the giant rabbit spirit. "I know, he hurt your feelings. Maybe next time, your servers can arrange it so that you two aren't so close to one another. That way Mr. Rabbit Spirit won't be tempted to bite you again." Chihiro spoke loudly so that the servers could hear her, they all nodded and agreed that it was probably for the best that they gave these two spirits some space from one another.

"Chihiro, you're _amazing_." Haku complimented her as they continued to help other miffed or generally upset spirits throughout the bathhouse.

It took many hours, but by the end of the evening, everything was settled down once more. Haku walked with his now very tired Chihiro to their shared room, helping her weary body into her bed.

"Thank you, Chihiro. You were a great help today." He praised the yawning young woman.

"I was glad to help, it also was a way to spend more time with you too." She smiled sleepily at her river spirit, placing an affectionate hand against his cheek. He held it there with his own hand, looking down at her warmly.

"Sleep well." He watched as the brunette young woman rested her eyes, falling into an easy sleep. He gently placed her hand down, resting it on her stomach before leaving her to go to his own bed.

Haku stripped off his robe, walking over to his comfortable bed wearing only his pants. The river spirit sat down and leaned so that he was on his back, gazing up at the ceiling. It had never been that crazy before, in the bathhouse. He was wondering what had set off the other spirits. Was there a bad omen headed their way? Had this ruckus been a sign? A lot of questions ran through Haku's mind, until his thoughts started to stray back to Chihiro.

He couldn't believe how much she'd grown, the little girl was now a beautiful young woman. Her face was longer, her body curved now, she had a bust for crying out loud! His love for her back then had been a sweet kind, the kind a child felt for a dear dear friend. Now, as he watched her and her easy mannerism, he was finding his love changing from the friendship kind they had had, to a different kind. It was attraction, he knew it, but felt out of sorts admitting it out loud. He hadn't been the type of spirit to go about being ornery and lewd to the women he was around constantly. He treated them respectfully, and felt no true attraction towards them. Then again, most of the females he associated himself with were frog like in appearance. Not exactly the prettiest bunch when you compared them to Chihiro.

Her hair was as long as Lin's now, she kept it braided all the time, held together on the end by her special hair band Granny had made for her. Her long, black lashes looked so beautiful with the shape of her dark, warm eyes. Her eyes could capture the river spirit forever, the way she gazed at him so...

His problem was, that he didn't know how to go about showing her that he cared in a deeper manner. He didn't want to just kiss her and have the young woman mad or angry at him. He wanted first to know that she was going to be accepting of his affection, Haku didn't know how well he'd take rejection from the young woman who held his heart.

Maybe she already knew, he had asked her about other possible suitors, hadn't that been hint enough that he was interested in a more personal relationship with her? He sighed, rolling around on his bed until his head rested against the pillow.

"Chihiro, I wish I knew how to tell you my feelings." He spoke out loud to himself, feeling lost as he tried to let sleep take him.

-0-0-

"_Sheesh_ Chihiro, can you slam down those noodles any _faster_?" Lin teased her friend as she watched the girl eat heartily. She'd been there for a month now, and Lin had taken notice of the human girls bigger appetite. Lin wasn't stupid, she knew something was going on with Chihiro and was still determined to figure out what it was!

"So, have you kissed _Prince Charming_ yet?" Lin teased Chihiro, making the girl almost choke on her bowl of noodles.

"Take it easy!" Lin patted her back, helping the other with their coughing and choking fit.

"_Lin_!" Chihiro hissed, finding her humor more upsetting than anything.

"What? You come back all grown up, and you're telling me you haven't even _kissed_ the guy yet? He's been waiting for you ever since you left, maybe cut the guy a break and plant one on him. I know you've thought about it, _Chihiro_! You're blush gives you away every time." Lin sassed her furiously blushing friend.

"He has to want to be kissed." Chihiro commented back, receiving a raised brow from Lin.

"Want it? Look at the way he _stares_ at you. He's thinking about it, Chihiro. A woman like me can tell about these things." She spoke knowingly, smirking at the way Chihiro fidgeted and fussed about awkwardly.

"Just go up to the guy and plant one on him!" Lin insisted, looking up to notice the man of the hour headed their way. "Here's your chance! I'll go over there to give you two some privacy, good luck!" She patted Chihiro on the back before leaving, giggling as she passed by the confused looking Haku.

"Was something funny?" He question Chihiro, sitting down next to the other.

"I don't know..." She shrugged, feeling watched as they sat alone together.

"Can we go for a walk, just you and I?" She asked him, her dark eyes pleading, making him willingly agree.

They stood at the same time, walking out of the kitchen and outside of the bathhouse, much to Lin's frustration. She had been watching from afar, wanting to see those two interact and now they were _leaving_, damn it! With a dissatisfied sigh, she let them go, knowing it'd be _way_ too hard to hide and follow them outside of the bathhouse.

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.


	3. Chapter 3

They walked across the bridge, hand in hand, a early summer breeze blowing and lifting playfully at Haku's robes and Chihiro's hair. She lead the river spirit to the garden he had shown her, it was safe now, to visit the garden. With Haku taking a bigger part in running the bathhouse, places that had once been private, now were open for others to enjoy. At this moment, they were the only two inside the flower filled garden.

"Here." Haku reached out and placed a freshly picked red geranium, into her hair. It matched the shade of red she turned when blushing, the flushed young woman thanked him, walking with the willing spirit around the area.

"Haku, did you ask me if I had a boyfriend, because you were only curious, or because you wanted to know if I was...if my heart was available?" She shyly asked him, stopping to gaze sheepishly at the young man before her.

"I asked, because I wanted to know if you had found someone to make you happy. This may sound wrong, but I felt relieved that you hadn't found anyone yet." He spoke honestly with her, feeling that maybe it was the right moment to admit his feelings for her, the ones that went beyond friendship.

"Haku." She spoke his name sweetly, looking at him with questioning eyes that needed an answer.

"Chihiro." He took his free hand to softly touch her face, inching his closer towards her, leaning down slowly so that if she chose to, she could halt him. Chihiro did not stop him, she even met him half way, leaning in and meeting her lips with his. The kiss was full of sweetness, tenderness, as their hands caresses each others faces.

Her arms worked their way around his neck, deepening the sweet kiss, creating a fire inside Haku he never knew was there. He felt his self control weakening, letting his mouth kiss her with more pressure, enjoying the fact that she was actually kissing him back, and with vigor!

After a moment, they parted lips, looking into each others eyes with relieved satisfaction.

"I was worried, Chihiro. Worried you wouldn't want our friendship to go down a more personal path." He admitted to her, letting out his old concern.

"It's different now, I knew that the minute we saw one another again. This feeling, this connection, it's beyond friendship for me. I feel it beyond my heart, and into my very bones, Haku. What we have, this connection? It's magical, it is so incredibly intense sometimes, like how you knew when I first got here, how I felt about their questions. You can sense things about me, sense things that no one else ever has or will." She touched his cheek with her warm palm.

"I want to take this path with you, Haku. But there's something going on with me, something I've been keeping to myself. I have a problem, and I need to take care of it first before we can be more than just friends." Her words brought forth a confused and concerned look from the dark eyed river spirit.

"Tell me, Chihiro. I want to help you, no matter what the problem is." He urged her, watching with frustration as she shook her head at him.

"I'm afraid, Haku. If I told you, you might not be my friend anymore. It's better I handle it alone, I couldn't take it if I lost your friendship." She was getting emotional now, fighting back tears as she tried explaining her actions to him.

"Never. Not in a million years could you ever stop being my friend. I love you, Chihiro. Please, tell me." He went to reach her arm, she pulled back and his reaching hand landed on her stomach briefly. He gasped, taking his hand quickly away from her, staring at her with shock and disbelief.

"What?!" She demanded, not knowing that he had been perceptive, that his touch had given him a clue to her problem she had mentioned. No wonder she was afraid, there was something inside her, growing! Hadn't she said that she didn't have a boyfriend? Was this a thing that happened without her permission? Had his Chihiro been taken advantage of? The thought brought anger to his eyes, picturing his girl being harmed in that manner!

He took a deep breath, right now he had to be understanding, not confrontational. He cleared his angry mind, and looked at her with knowing eyes, "Chihiro, I felt it."

Chihiro's eyes grew wide as they began to glass over, her tears about to fall from those sad, helpless looking orbs.

"It's alright." He hugged her to him, showing her affection and acceptance, caressing the back of her head and letting her body shake and tremble while she cried. He wanted to weep with her, feeling how strong her emotions were as he held her close.

"Chihiro, I'm still here, I'm still your friend. We'll figure this out, together." He promised her, believing that there had to be a way to undo what had been done to his girl, the girl he would always love.

-0-0-

Ah, how time just seemed to flow by within the spirt world, Koga had waited a month, long enough that he felt a surprise visit was in order. He wasn't going to bring her back with him, not this time. Nope, what he wanted to do, was confront the girl in front of the ever so confident Haku. He was elated to see the look on that bastard's face, once he admitted to placing his spiritual essence inside her.

Oh, how Chihiro would be so shocked and surprised, seeing that her human crush had really come from the spirit realm. The girl was bound to be ashamed, once Koga spoke of their sensual moment with one another, how she'd practically given herself to the river spirit. It wasn't as if the foolish human realized she had been magically convinced into relaxing enough so that he could do her.

The evil minded spirit transformed into his elegant dragon form, black scales glistened in the remaining sunlight as his dark purple fur blew about in the light breeze. He lifted into the air, headed straight for the bathhouse. A sly smile on his animal mug as he made his way closer to his destination.

-0-0-

Chihiro was following around Haku, going about the bathhouse and making sure that things were going smoothly, when a new client entered the main doors, bursting them open widely and strutting in cockily, looking about the place thoughtfully.

His black spiky hair was very familiar, as she watched him from above, taking her hand and touching Haku's shoulder to get his attention.

"What is it, Chihiro?" He questioned, turning to gaze down at whatever had her attention.

"Do you know that spirit?" She asked him, not use to seeing very many spirits in a human form, so far Haku had been the only one she'd met that held onto the form of a man.

"No, I don't think so, should I know him?" He asked, watching the black haired young man walking through the servants, headed towards the stairs that would lead him to the watchful couple.

Chihiro was having a very bad feeling, her arms wrapping around Haku, as if wanting him to protect her from harm.

"I have a bad vibe, Haku, don't let him near me." She warned, feeling her heart race as the self impressed man inched his cocky self up the stairs.

"Chihiro?" Haku held onto her protectively, wondering why this stranger was giving her a bad feeling. He was now at the top of the stairs, looking directly at the couple. His green eyes flashed magically as he gestured widely with his arms, "Chihiro, fancy meeting you here!"

Chihiro looked closer at him, holding lightly onto Haku as she realized who the spirit resembled. But it couldn't be! Koga had been a college student, how could he have been a spirit?!

"You're surprised, aren't you? Well, I do look a bit different here in this realm. But I assure you, the Koga you knew in your world, was actually me." He smiled at her, standing right where he was, not yet ready to move so close to the other river spirit.

"You tricked me! I thought you were a human!" She yelled at the horrible, deceitful spirit who had wronged her.

"Ah, but you seemed happy enough with my human form, you let me kiss you after all." The evil thing was mocking her, right in front of Haku!

"So, you're _that_ Koga." Haku glared daggers into the other, his Chihiro had told him of Koga, how she had felt spellbound by the man as he did things with her. That explained why she had let him, the man was a spirit, he was capable of manipulating humans with all kinds of spells and enchantments.

"Did she tell you, Kohaku, that she gave herself to me willingly?" Koga was trying to goad the other, to make him upset with Chihiro. It wouldn't work though, if anything it made him angrier towards the spirit before him.

"Get out, this bathhouse won't serve you." Haku pointed towards the door.

"Don't you feel angry that the girl you loved and waited for forgot about you and had me instead?" He ignored Haku's orders, a very dangerous thing to do.

With a carful hand, he move Chihiro back before transforming into his impressive, silver dragon form. He gave the spirit a might roar, growling with readied fangs at the other.

"You don't frighten me, Kohaku!" The other male growled, transforming as well, his black body glimmered and shook as he roared right back at the other.

Suddenly, the two were on each other, entangling their long bodies as they scratched and clawed, bit and snapped at one another.

Everyone within the bathhouse got out of the way as the mighty dragons raged against one another, breaking anything within their path as they tumbled and flew about. Blood was beginning to fly everywhere as they fought on, causing panic among the servants and guests, everyone making it for the main doors to leave the violence and bloodshed. Lin tried to get to Chihiro, but the dragons blocked her path! She watched helplessly from afar as her young friend shivered and trembled, watching her Haku fight savagely with the rogue dragon.

'_She's going to be bound to me, you know. Soon you'll lose what little bond you have left, Kohaku!_' The angry thoughts of Koga went into Haku's mind, as they continued to destroy furniture inside the business. Large bodies slamming against walls as well, destroying lanterns and artwork.

'_You can't have her!_' Haku growled defiantly back, taking a sharp claw and raking it over the others left eye, the creature howled in protest, flying away momentary from the silver other. '_We'll find a way, she can be cured!_' Haku spoke it as a chant, wanting to believe it.

'_Keep telling yourself that._' Koga spat, "_I'll be back for my prize, enjoy her while you can._" He slithered his body quickly away, swooshing past a wide eyed Lin and out of the messed up bathhouse.

'_Coward!'_ Haku cried as he went to follow, but was blocked by Lin and Chihiro.

"Haku, please!" Chihiro begged him, moving towards his dangerous form and placing her trembling hand against his scaled forehead.

"Following him and killing him won't solve what he's done. Please, calm yourself, you're wounded." Chihiro looked into his mystical eyes, pulling the spirit back from his vengeful thoughts momentarily. He heaved a great, and reluctant, sigh. Slowly he began to change back into his human form.

As Chihiro hugged his winded and wounded body, she heard heavy, loud footsteps headed their way. Everyone's head turned to see a very unhappy looking Yubaba marching towards them.

"What's going on down here? Look at this mess! You!" Yubaba pointed a bony, aged finger at Chihiro, marching up to the girl that was holding onto Haku.

"You caused this, didn't you?!" Yubaba accused, her eyes leaving the little brat momentarily to lock onto Haku. She noticed he was bleeding, his robes askew and ripped here and there.

"What happened, Haku? Lose a fight with a better spirit?" She was given a death glare from the weary river spirit.

"You claim to know everything that goes on in this bathhouse, but you didn't notice the fight that just happened? You're slipping, Yubaba, worse than I had thought." He riled her, as he had intended.

"_Slipping_?! I'm as sharp as a tack, _damn it_! Why would I rush down to stop a fight when I wanted you to lose it?" She admitted, surprising everyone that was listening in.

"You knew Haku was in trouble and did _nothing_?" Chihiro complained, her slender eyebrows furrowed as she seethed, wanting to whack that snide look off Yubaba's old, ugly face.

"She's Yubaba, what'd you expect? She has no clue what kindness is." Lin spoke up, shaking her head at the witch.

"Kindness? I don't call you deadbeat workers names anymore or turn humans into pigs, and you think I'm unkind?!" The witch fumed, her large eyes bugged out at the anger she was feeling.

"Yubaba, just let it go." Haku sighed tiredly.

"No! I'am _sick_ of letting you feel like you're running things around here! This is still _my_ bathhouse, Haku. I want all this broken furniture replaced! Do you hear me? And get this blood cleaned up before it stains the floors!" She huffed out orders to the weakened river spirit, feeling froggy enough to boss the young man around.

"It'll get done, damn it!" Haku cursed at the witch, his sharp words surprised Chihiro, she wasn't use to him speaking in that manner.

"See that it is, _boy_!" Yubaba sassed him before taking her leave, stomping away and muttering negative comments to herself.

"Haku? We need to get your wounds mended." Chihiro tried to move her weakened friend away from the messy area.

"No. I can fix this mess first, I'll be alright." He stopped her, taking his hands and summoning his powers. Magically the broken baths and other pieces of furniture started to mend themselves. The lanterns that had been tipped over were righted, and lastly, the blood was slowly wiped away by an enchanted mop.

"That's good enough for now, come on you stubborn ass." Lin tried to tug on the young mans sleeve, and got pushed away roughly.

"Hey!" She shouted, feelings hurt at his actions.

"Just let me _be_." He snapped, moving away from both women, determined to heal himself alone.

"I've never seen him so upset!" Chihiro commented after making sure Lin was okay.

"I think his pride is more hurt than anything. He probably wasn't happy getting challenged like that in front of you, Chihiro. And then letting the guy get away...I think it must have pissed him off." Lin spoke her opinion on the situation.

"I...I didn't mean to anger him. I just knew that following Koga wouldn't solve our problem." She tried expressing her thoughts to Lin, who nodded her head simply.

"I know, Chihiro. Even though you meant to do the right thing, Haku probably had a hard time not doing what his emotions wanted him to. Now he looks weaker by not finishing that jerk off." Lin spoke her opinion. Her eyes started looking over Chihiro curiously. "What'd that spirit do to you anyway? Break your heart?" Lin said jokingly.

"I didn't even know he _was_ a spirit. Lin, how can spirits walk among the human world? If Koga could do it, why didn't Haku try to see me in my world?" Chihiro asked of her friend, wondering how Koga was able to do such an act, and yet Haku had stayed here the entire time she had been away. It was going to piss her off if Haku just chose not to do it, if he _had_ visited her, then maybe she wouldn't have ended up pregnant!

"I've never really heard of spirits doing that, Chihiro. Maybe you should ask Haku about it, when he's not feeling moody." Lin suggested to her friend.

"I want to go look for him, I don't care if his pride is wounded, or if he's moody." Chihiro started to walk away from her friend, before the other could protest.

"Just be careful, Haku can be a real pill!" Lin warned, Chihiro just waved the comment off. He was her friend, he wouldn't hurt her or be cruel, the river spirit loved her.

-0-0-

Haku was having a very hard time coping with what just happened. He felt furious over letting that spirit escape! He knew that he'd only find satisfaction once the bastard was killed, never again would he have the opportunity to touch or hurt his beloved Chihiro. He'd given in, and let the villain go because his girl had insisted. He respected her wishes, but still his mind felt miffed over losing his opportunity for vengeance.

His body was slowly healing as he stood inside his chambers, standing on the balcony and looking off into the distance. His alert ears picked up the sound of his door opening, light footsteps following after, headed his way. Quietly he stood, sensing the presence of his Chihiro.

She stopped a few feet away from him, her actions seeming hesitant. Did she think he held anger against her? She was wrong, if that was her worry. He was angry with how things had played out, but he could never be mad at her.

"Haku? Can you travel to the human world?" She blurted out the question that had been rapidly eating at her.

The river spirit was quiet for a moment, considering how to answer her. "Some spirits, are able to move through the different worlds with ease. I never thought I was able to do such an act, I'm not as powerful as some spirits, so I never really tried."

"You're telling me, that through all this time we've been separated, you never _once_ thought about trying to visit the human world?!" Chihiro grounded out her words, frustrated with his answer.

"There was a lot going on here, Chihiro. I've had a lot of extra responsibilities to take care of, as much as I wanted to see you again, I didn't ever consider visiting because I don't think my essence could handle the change."

"You were afraid..." Chihiro spoke her assumption.

"I never said that." He argued.

"Then what else could it have been? If not fear, then what? What caused you to just stay on the side lines? To not check up on me to see if I was alright? If you had been there, then maybe..."

"Maybe you wouldn't have been tricked and used by Koga?"

She gaped, surprised again by his ability to know what she was thinking, "Trust me Chihiro, that thought has crossed my mind multiple times now. It's pointless though, nothing, in either this world or yours, can change the past. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, I wish that I had been, sometimes I really hate myself for not trying to visit." He admitted, looking hollowly down at his feet.

"How do we stop all of this, Haku? Granny can't fix this, she doesn't have the power. Do I just let him take me?" She shook her head in exasperation.

Haku turned his head quickly at this, his eyes dark and his face in between his dragon and human form. She'd never seen him that way, his mouth elongated and fanged, yet his eyes and forehead still human.

"Never! I'll never let him take you!" Haku growled out his promise, the river spirits emotions were frazzled at the very idea of Koga taking Chihiro from him.

"Then what? Do I return to the human world? Right out of high school and pregnant? I'll be kicked out and left to live on the streets." She knew her parents well enough, that it was very possible she'd be forced into that unfortunate living situation.

"He'd only follow you back there, you're not safe there anymore either. The only safe place for you, is with me, Chihiro. I will protect you from him, even if I have to give my life to fight for your freedom, I will!" He pulled her quickly, urgently into his arms. Holding onto her as if expecting her to disappear at any minute.

"I can't. I'll never let you do that. I'd rather live a life as a slave to him than watch you die protecting me. I can live like that as long as I know you're still here." She embraced him back, burying her head into his chest and breathing in his familiar jasmine scent.

"We'll figure this out, Chihiro. Fate wouldn't let our paths meet again only to tear us apart." He sighed, his face relaxing enough to go back into his normal, human form. Somehow, someway, they would figure this out, they _had_ to...

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.


	4. Chapter 4

Weeks went by, Haku busied himself with literature about spirits gifting mortals with children. There were so many different outcomes from a vast array of spirits, that Haku didn't know what to truly expect from Chihiro should she actually have to carry the thing full term. Forest spirits who had charmed women into having sex, had written that most mothers turned into trees after giving birth. The fire spirits had written about their chosen women having the baby or new spirit, come out of her mouth, the trama so fierce and hot, killed the mortal after she basically belched out the new spirit.

Not all mortals died, which was positive, but they also weren't the same afterwords. Some gained powers, a blessing unto them for carrying a newly made spirit. Powers that varied from talking to animals to inhuman strength.

Thus far, Haku had yet to find anything on a river spirit mating with a mortal and it's outcome. It appeared that no one had written anything about it yet, which was very frustrating. How was he to help when he didn't know what to expect? Then again, he was only researching all this as a back up. Just in case his Chihiro was in it for the long haul, if they didn't find a way to get rid of the growing thing inside her. They still had time, he could sense that the being within his girl still needed a few months to finish its growth.

When he wasn't busy studying about spirit and mortal conceptions, and when he wasn't running around the bathhouse solving problems, Haku was teaching Chihiro more magic. He had gone over how to control fire, and she was doing very well with that. The newest thing he was working on with her, was taking control of water. Being what he was, the act came like breathing for him. Chihiro wasn't having as hard a time with water as she had experienced with fire. He assumed because of their bond, the water was willing to try and listen to her will.

She could make it form shapes when her hand was touching it, but she had yet to master the art of calling to it from a distance. Something that could be very handy in the right circumstance.

"How do you do it, Haku? What do you think to the water to make it listen?" She had asked of him one day.

"You never ask, you command it, Chihiro. You will it to listen, to be an extension of yourself." He had answered her, "You must be more insistent, more forceful. There's no room for 'would you mind?' when you're controlling something like water."

She tried harder, his Chihiro was a willing and ambitious student. A fact he admired about her, thank goodness she hadn't regressed during her time in the human world, Haku didn't know how well a whiny Chihiro would have done with the magic he was trying to teach.

"Chihiro, didn't you have goals...expectations for yourself in the human world? What would you have done if you hadn't..." He didn't want to finish his sentence, but it was alright, Chihiro understood what he meant.

Her hands stopped practicing, slipping into her lap comfortably as they both sat and gazed at one another.

"You know, a lot of people my age, know exactly what they want to do. Either their own choice or a choice made for them by their parents. For me, I didn't really have my head buried into the whole, 'what college are you attending after high school' thing. My parents think I'm a dreamer, that my head is always up in the clouds. I guess, what would have been enjoyable for me, was to go on to be a writer. I love books, and I thought that maybe someday I could write a few. But, as my parents like to remind me, 'Theres no money in it, Chihiro.' So my goal seemed trivial and preposterous to them. We were arguing about me taking at least some general courses at a community college before all this happened." She gestured to her stomach, making Haku's heart ache.

"Money concerns your parents more than your overall happiness?" He shook his head at the idea.

"It's the human world, Haku. Plenty of parents worry about that for their children. I guess I don't have that worry anymore." Chihiro shrugged, her eyes a bit sad.

Haku reached out to clasp her hand, making her sad eyes vanish. "Why do you ask?" She looked quizzically at her friend.

"I just wondered about your other life, what it might have been like with different circumstances." He answered simply.

"You're still glad I'm here, aren't you?" She asked somewhat worriedly.

"Chihiro, I couldn't be any happier. You're the most special person in my life, I feel grateful to have you with me again." He left out how he felt about her condition, she didn't need to be constantly reminded of that. Truth be told, if she hadn't gotten pregnant, the young woman wouldn't have ever come back, so in a way, Haku supposed the situation had its merits. Or maybe just one merit, for nothing else involving the pregnancy pleased him one bit.

"Chihiro, how would you like to call it a day, and go for a flight with me?" He asked her, thinking too much about his girls situation was going to drive Haku mad. They both could use a break from the bathhouse, what better way to feel untethered than to go flying?

-0-0-

Koga held a scar over his right eye, the eye Kohaku had struck with his damn claw. So far the few healing spells he'd preformed weren't making that specific scar vanish. It bothered him greatly, for Koga was an extremely vain spirit. How was he to look handsome with an ugly scar upon his face?

"Damn him!" Koga cursed to himself as he looked in a mirror once more.

Haku would get his! Soon that girl would be ready to pop, and Koga would whisk her away from the ever confident Haku. He'd be unable to stop the act, for by then the human would be more connected to Koga than Haku. As he reached out with his mind, he could feel the being inside Chihiro right now, sleeping and growing. Koga was elated to see what Chihiro would birth him, what powers the newly created spirit would hold. He already was working on a room for the mother and his offspring. The outside of the ancient tower may look ruined and decrepit, but with his magic, the inside was anything but!

Silk curtains and pillows were everywhere within the tower, along with rich looking decorations of gold and silver along the walls and floors. Incense was burned all day long within the dragons home, the smell of orchard one of his favorite scents to burn.

Soon, this lonely tower would be holding a family inside it, his family. With a bit of time and forcefulness, Chihiro would come over to Koga's side. She'd forget about Haku and learn to respect and eventually love her new river spirit.

-0-0-

Chihiro had yet to gain any kind of weight from her pregnancy. Which might have been due to where she was, the spirit world was capable of making things extremely different from her human world. Not that she really wanted to start showing a baby bump, it just concerned her. She knew what to expect in the human world, she'd read about pregnancy in school, but here it seemed her knowledge was irrelevant.

She ate a lot more food, that was normal for the human world, and she supposed now it was normal for the spirit world as well. But so far she wasn't moody, she felt sad some times, over her situation, but she was never sharp or rude with anyone she talked with.

Haku was so caring, he was busy reading as much as he could about spirits that had gotten humans pregnant. Researching so that in case they couldn't remove the thing inside her, they'd at least know what to expect. For some unknown reason, he had yet to share with her any information, but that was okay. He'd speak to her when the time was right, it's not like he was hiding anything from her, Haku would never behave that way.

She was feeling more stressed out and concerned when she had been in the spirit world for a little over two months. Nothing had changed her situation, and she was starting to feel panicked. One evening, when Haku was busy inside the bathhouse without her, she'd declined on going, having felt lightheaded and squeamish. She had taken it upon herself, to ask for assistance from a dangerous source, a person she knew Haku would have forbid her from speaking with. That was why she ventured now, when he wasn't there to stop her actions.

Determinedly, she walked to the elevator and went up one floor. Once the doors opened, her head peeked out first, remembering her first visit to this floor of the bathhouse, Yubabba's floor.

She had been a frightened little girl then, but now she was stronger, wiser, and older. She wasn't going to be tricked into a deal that did little good for her, no. Chihiro was going to be clever, and get Yubaba to help her without having to sacrifice her name or memories.

Her slender feet creaked against the wooden floor as she walked up to the ugly door knocker that resembled Yubaba's face. This time, she knocked, afterwords she stuck her tongue out at the knocker for its comment it had made the last time she was there. It humphed at her before the door opened up widely.

"What is it _now_? Does Haku send you to me just to make my day extra deplorable?" She called to Chihiro, the young woman quickly entered, hustling over to the witch before magic was used on her. Chihiro was more confident, walking up to the large form of Yubaba, gazing at her unafraid as they stared one another down.

"Well, why are you here?" She asked irritably, looking at the girl with unkind eyes.

"I know you like to make deals, Yubaba. I have a proposition in mind, that is, if you're powerful enough to do your end of the bargain." Chihiro's words were met with a raised brow and a smirk.

"Didn't you learn your lesson last time? I thought you knew better than to make deals with me anymore." Yubaba kept her attitude cool and collected, watching the young woman with interest.

"This time there's no downfall on my end. This time we both get something out of our deal." Chihiro assured the witch, Yubaba gestured with a hand, meaning for her guest to elaborate.

"You're a witch, you've undoubtedly sensed a difference with me, so lets not pretend you haven't felt this thing inside me." Chihiro began, noticing the witch was beginning to smirk wider at her. "Here is my offer, Yubaba. Take this thing out of me, and you can keep it for yourself. Teach it tricks, do whatever you like with it. Just get it out of me before I have to deliver it myself." She spoke her proposition.

"Ah, the little mother to be doesn't wish to raise her child? Well too bad! I have enough spirits around here, and I have my own baby to take care of." Yubaba folded her arms defensively.

"A baby that is now a child, and bound to grow into a grown up eventually. Haku has always been a hard spirit for you to get along with, let alone control. This spirit growing inside me would be a new start, something you could control from the beginning." Chihiro made her case, and it did stir Yubaba's interest.

"I newly made spirit to control." Yubaba spoke aloud, considering the idea.

"I will only take this spirit from you once you go into labor. That will be the only way my magic can work on it, so you're stuck like you are until it's ready to hatch." The witch informed the young woman before her.

"Does this mean we have a deal?" Chihiro eyed the elderly lady carefully.

"Fine. I've been bored around here anyway, perhaps this spirit will bring me some entertainment. We have a deal." Yubaba snapped her fingers, a paper magically appeared with their conditions written on it.

"Sign here and it's final, no turning back." Yubaba smiled coyly, waiting for the timid part of Chihiro to show itself. Surprisingly, the young woman was stiff and unbothered, signing the paper with an easy confidence.

Yubaba took the paper and filed it safely away, turning again to look at Chihiro questioningly, "Why are you still here? Leave!" She shooed the human, only satisfied when the young woman was completely gone.

Yubaba started to laugh, enjoying how everything was turning out. Oh Koga would have Chihiro alright, but not his new spirit! The look on his face would be priceless once the brat goes into labor and nothing comes out for him. Yubaba bet that Chihiro would be getting very rough treatment from the irate river spirit after he finds out what happened to his offspring!

Yubaba would be able to control both Haku and her new spirit, and if Haku started to annoy her, she'd just destroy him and keep her more obedient, and tame spirit. Things were going to be so much better around here! Yubaba could hardly wait for the human to pop, the sooner she did, the sooner Yubaba would have her bathhouse the way she wanted it.

-0-0-

Chihiro had been brave in front of Yubaba, but as she returned to Haku's chambers, and sat quietly on her bed, guilt started to eat at her. Haku would be so mad at her, if he found out, but at least this way guaranteed that Koga wouldn't have her bound to him. Once the spirit was in Yubaba's possession, he couldn't possibly want anything from just Chihiro. It had all been about the thing inside her, and once that was gone, he'd have no use for her. She'd be able to be with Haku without the worry of Koga.

This simple fact calmed her guilt. In the long run, this deal would be a positive thing. She'd just not mention it to Haku until she absolutely had too...

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.

A/N: Chihiro is making some questionable choices. Where will it all lead her in the long run? Unfortunate things are about to happen, stick around and find out how her choices effect everyone around her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Chihiro, the time has come. Meet me outside the bathhouse, make not a sound as you leave, it will only make things worse. Hurry, little human, your master awaits." Her dark eyes opened wide from slumber, her upper half rising from the bed. Her body was tingling from magic, as it started to rise off the bed and her legs began to move towards the door.

Magic held back her yell she wanted to make, it forced her into this silent march, towards the spirit who demanded she come to him. Tears rolled down her angry red cheeks as her little feet made their way down dozens of stairs. Her eyes held only contempt as she finally arrived outside the bathhouse, her captor standing proudly as he watched her move towards him.

Hands touched her, lips kissed her all against Chihiro's will as the spirit did as he pleased to her spellbound body.

"You're mine, Chihiro." He said it as a fact before wrapping an arm around her middle and lifting them both up into the sky. She could only hope that Haku would know better than to think she had left him to return to the human world.

'Haku, find me!' She silently prayed as her body was carried off by the smug faced Koga.

-0-0-

Haku woke up feeling sick, his stomach in knots as he stood up from his bed and began to dress for the day. It was strange, he hadn't felt this bad since Chihiro had left when she was younger. He'd been in all sorts of discomfort during the first few months of her absence. With time he had been able to control the pain inside, but now it was back and with a vengeance! He tried taking deep breaths as he finished putting on his robes, his bare feet lightly tapping against the hard wood as he went over to check on his Chihiro.

His eyes gazed upon an empty bed, a sign that very unusual. Chihiro rarely ever awoke before him, let alone went out to the bathhouse without him in tow. Something was very wrong, he could sense it. He started to move out of his chambers and headed down the elevator to check around the bathhouse. Maybe she really was down there, perhaps talking with Lin?

Unconvinced, though trying to be optimistic, the river spirit began searching for her throughout the bathhouse. He found Lin and asked if she had seen Chihiro that morning. Unsurprisingly, she answered no. With his mind assuming the worst, Haku decided to talk with the only other person who kept tabs on the movements within the bathhouse. Yubaba...

-0-0-

"How should I know where the little brat is? She's your human, you should keep better track of your things, Haku." Yubaba huffed, her words were hiding something, but Haku had yet to find out what the plotting old witch was withholding.

"If you don't know where she is, then maybe you can tell me something else. What do you know of the Koga river spirit?" He inquired, watching the old lady carefully.

"You should know more about him that I. You were neighbors at one point." She teased him with her vagueness, making the river spirit want to snarl at the witch.

Neighbor? What kind of nonsense was that? She was enjoying this way too much for Haku's liking. That smug look on her wrinkled face was only adding to his already irritable pain he felt inside himself.

"Would you elaborate?" He asked tersely, grinding his teeth as he asked her.

"You'd think that since you remember your name, you'd remember other things relating to your past. Wasn't there a river near you? One that you dumped into?" She waited, watching his face wrinkle as he tried to remember.

That's right! Why hadn't he remembered before?! The Koga River had been one that he'd shared paths with in a small section of his river territory. That spirit was always grumpy towards him too...was that why he had taken advantage of Chihiro? Did the river hold onto a grudge because of some silly territory dispute? No! That was idiotic! Kohaku's river had been filled in for a long while now, meaning that he hadn't been dumping into Koga's river for years. Why was the spirit doing all this?

"Do you know where he is?" He furrowed his brows at the pompous faced witch. She took a hand and stared at her long, painted nails nonchalantly. Taking her sweet time before answering the increasingly angry Haku.

"I don't keep up with spirits that don't pay for our services. Ask someone else." She tisked, pretending to be more interested in her nails than his problem.

"Tell me!" He banged his fists against her messy desk, she vaguely looked up at him, unamused.

"I told you, I don't know." She repeated herself, yet the river spirit could still sense deceit within the woman before him, it was driving him over the edge.

"What is it then, that you're not saying?" He demanded of her.

-0-0-

Swirling smoke, surrounded her as she came to, as if waking from a bad dream. Her eyes blinked rapidly, the smoke bothering all her senses as she tried to look around herself. It was dark, wherever she was, low lit candles here and there to barely help her make out vague shapes.

Her body was on an assortment of slippery yet soft cousins. The lighting was too dim for her to make out their colors. As her hands brushed against her legs, it surprised Chihiro greatly to feel that her legs were bare. Her hands explored for any sign of cloth against her, only finding that she was dressed in satin like panties, and some sort of short shirt that barely covered her midriff, tassels were below her bust line. A very strange and revealing outfit indeed! Was this just another dream? Like the nightmare she had been having of Koga spiriting her away from Haku? That seemed the only logical explanation at this point, as the young woman rose from her cushions to explore with her hands around the room, maybe she'd feel a door knob and get to explore more of her dream world.

Carefully she shuffled around the edges of her room, finally coming to a point where there was indeed a knob, but it was locked. The room held no windows for the young lady to try and clamber out of, so with a frustrated sigh, she plopped herself on the floor and waited for her dream to become more interesting.

It felt like hours went by, as she waited through her terribly boring and uneventful dream. She was about to go stir crazy when the knob turned, the door opening to light up the room. A roaring fireplace inside the newly accessible room lit up her dark chambers. Her eyes looked about her and marveled at the golden mosaics throughout the walls of the room, depicting dragons fighting one another. Her soft cushions had been red and gold, regal looking and matching the layout of the entire room.

Eager to get on with her dream, Chihiro stood and walked out of her chamber and headed towards the welcoming flames at the fireplace. Her hands fanned out as she warmed her lightly chilled skin, wearing practically nothing sure made you more susceptible to feeling drafts wherever you went...

Warm hands wrapped around her from behind, surprising the young woman but also making her feel less alone in this strange dream. The smell of jasmine made her mind assume automatically that her Haku held her so lovingly. The dreaming Chihiro relaxed against him, smiling as she felt his chin rest atop her head lightly.

They stood there for a moment, peacefully holding onto one another, when his hands started roaming. Now, it wasn't as if Chihiro didn't find his advances tempting, but something was off with how he was touching her. It was too forward for Haku, as she felt his hands slip up her tiny shirt and touch her breast underneath. She loudly gasped, feeling excitement yet nervousness all at the same time. His lips were working on her neck now too, kissing her urgently, becoming more persistent and dominating as she felt his human teeth begin to nip at her flesh.

"Haku." She tried saying his name in a way that he'd understand that she wasn't ready just yet.

He didn't listen, he started biting her harder, undoubtedly leaving marks. His hands were rougher on her boobs, kneading them harshly as he pinched her nipples mercilessly. It was becoming more painful than pleasant.

"Enough!" She pushed back against him, elbowing him to let go as she turned around to give the pushy spirit a lecture about his actions. Her mouth never started any speech as she saw the man that had been holding her so lewdly. Her mouth hung agape, as her left eye lightly began to twitch at the sight of her captor.

Koga stood before her, smiling devilishly at her shocked form. His muscled, slim chest was bare, his lower half clothed in loose fitting satin pants. His spiked black hair glowed almost a red color from the flames of fire, his mesmerizing green eyes alone could have held her prisoner there as he stared at her cockily. Those dimpled cheeks she once found attractive now only made her heart race in fear, this young man would never again receive the interest she had once shown him, back when she had thought he was only human.

"Why Chihiro, you look surprised. Did you really think that you were merely dreaming when I came for you? You've been asleep for an entire day now, I'd hoped you had awaken to accept your fate as it is." He took a confident hand and stroked her right cheek.

"This is crazy! You're not real, this is just a nightmare!" She shook her head, backing away unbelieving as the young man started to laugh.

"A nightmare? You haven't even seen me when in really angry yet." He scoffed, moving in on her like an African cat to its prey.

"No!" She denied what he said, convinced that it simply had to be a dream.

"Come here, Chihiro. Let me show you how real this all is..." He held a twisted smile as he cornered the girl, his hand reaching out to brace himself against the stone wall, trapping her next to him.

"Haku would never let you take me!" She screamed into his smiling face, her hands lifted up underneath her chin, forming fists.

"Haku was having a very deep sleep, all within the bathhouse were. You can thank Yubaba for that. He by now must be wondering if you've left him to go back into the human world. You've broken his heart without even trying." He chuckled, watching her face harden, her eyes beady with hate.

"Yubaba helped you?! You're wrong, Koga! Haku would know better, he knows I love him." Her words stopped his laughter, his eyes slitted as he looked towards her with loathing.

"Love you? If he loved you then why didn't the coward try seeing you in the human world?" He spat his words at her, "I at least knew how you were. He was too busy being a hot shot, running the bathhouse to be worried about you."

"It's not like that!" She shook her head, feeling miffed as the spirit only laughed at her.

"Think about it, he claims to have grown stronger once he regained his name back, yet never once did he attempt to gain access to the human world? For not even a glimpse?" Koga looked her body up and down hungrily.

"I may have followed you around at first because I wished to take that which belonged to Haku, but after a while, I did find myself seeing a attractiveness about you..." His human tongue slipped out of his mouth, transforming into his slender dragon tongue and flicking her across the cheek. A look of pure disgust morphed on Chihiro's face over the slippery lick.

"You do know spirits use that bathhouse you adore for other reasons than just bathing. You were too little to see what roles some of the females took on in that establishment." He enlightened the young woman before him, pleased at her look of discomfort.

"I find that our consummation was more satisfying than any service I had received from previous spiritual prostitutes..." He confided to her, enjoying how her lower lip trembled at this news, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Spiritual prostitutes?" She spoke the words uncertainly. It was true that she hadn't been apart of every job within the bathhouse. Lin and herself had cleaned the tubs and made sure the customers were happy. She had always wondered why some of the females were dressed so nicely only to be tub scrubbers, Chihiro had assumed that maybe they were just hostesses. It greatly disturbed her now, imagining those ladies doing strange spiritual sex acts. Koga and Haku were at least human looking, those ladies had to do intimate things with spirits that held all sorts of strange and exotic and sometimes ugly forms. How could they do it? Why did some spirits want something like that done to themselves?

"Haven't you heard of virgin sacrifices to gods and demons? It's the same difference for us spirits. Some of us enjoy the experience, watching you small bodied females take on our desires, touching our spiritual bodies sensually..." He could tell that Chihiro didn't understand the reason for the prostitutes, the girl was a bit of a dope about some matters.

"That's crazy though! What if you got one of them pregnant?!" She demanded an answer.

"Silly human, don't you realize that your body is different from theirs? They're unable to procreate with us, they don't have the special thing inside them to function in that manner. Besides, can you imagine Yubaba putting in a daycare for her workers bastard children?" Koga laughed at the very idea. Yubaba would never stand for her workers getting knocked up within that bathhouse.

"Let me go, Koga." She looked at him as if expecting a merciful answer.

"You know I won't. You're bound to me, Chihiro. This child makes it so." He reached out with one hand and placed it upon her flat stomach, her body shivered at his touch.

"Yes, only a month more to go, little one." He spoke to the thing within her, excitement in his vivid green eyes.

"No, this is crazy!" She got up the nerve to quickly rush past time, tired of cowering before the spirit as she bolted for an opened doorway.

Her legs were swift as she ran through the door and started to rush down spiraling stairs. She could hear him coming, could sense his frustration towards her as she desperately tried to run even faster. Her legs carried her down to the very bottom, her urgent hands gripping and pulling at the knob of the only door. It wouldn't budge one bit, making the young woman curse in anger as she turned to see her captor walking down the rest of the stairs, a coy smile on his face.

"Do you think it'd be that easy? That I'd let you escape?" He rolled his eyes at the very idea. His bare feet halted when he was directly in front of her. He raised a brow at her, looking her over as if disappointed she hadn't given him more of a challenge.

"Like it or not, you're stuck with me, Chihiro. You can either come back up these stairs quietly, or I can drag you up them." He informed the irate faced young woman.

"Haku will come for me! He'll always know where to find me, just wait!" She threatened the unconcerned looking spirit.

"Keep telling yourself that." He sarcastically spoke, his hand began to reach out for her, ready to drag his feisty human up the stairs if she didn't start cooperating.

-0-0-

No one had answers for him, Haku was on his own as he started to search for his missing Chihiro. He tried sensing for her presence, yet for some reason the river spirit could not feel her at all. It was starting to make him wonder if she truly hadn't gone back to the human world, as he flew about, searching for his human.

Feeling completely at a loss, the spirit decided to visit Yubaba's sister. Zeneba was a powerful witch, if her sister wouldn't talk truthfully, maybe the good twin would enlighten Haku.

As the dragon flew down, landing close to the witch's home, he transformed back into his human form. The humble cottage door opened, Zeneba waved at her visitor, beckoning for him to enter.

"Well, if it isn't Haku. But where's Chihiro?" She asked, as her guest entered her home. He looked about the modest house, gazing over her yarns and threads next to her spinning wheel, his focus changing to her main table that held cookies and freshly brewed tea.

"Did you know I was coming?" He asked of her, the witch walked over to a comfortable chair at the table and gestured for the young man to take a seat.

"I could feel it in my bones, that I was going to have a visitor today." She smiled whimsically. "But you never answered my question. Where's Chihiro?" She asked for the second time.

"I was hoping you knew. I've come because she's gone. I haven't been able to find her anywhere. I'm worried, either she left to go back to her human world, or something worse..." He paused, the witch scooted over a steaming cup of tea towards the troubled young man.

"Do you really believe Chihiro would return to her parents without even saying goodbye?" She asked of him.

"No..." He answered her honestly. "But if it isn't that, then it's even worse. She's been taken away and I'm not sure where. Some guardian I've turned out to be." He belittled himself.

"Enough! No one ever succeeded when they started self loathing. I won't have any of that under my roof." She chided the other. "Noface, would you please set down that pen and paper and sit with us? We have a guest for goodness sake!" She spoke irritably at the masked spirit. "He's been drawing the same silly thing over and over again, I can't imagine why he's doing it." She informed the river spirit.

Haku looked over and watched as the spirit begrudgingly stood, sighing as it set down its pen. It glided over to the two and sank dejectedly into a chair.

"No pouting, it's rude!" She tisked at the oddly behaving Noface.

"What does he keep drawing?" Haku asked curiously.

"An old, run down tower. It the same stone tower over and over again. He's stopped in the middle of spinning just to sit down and redraw the blasted thing! He's driving me a bit crazy with it to be honest." The witch openly admitted her annoyance to the other. Something made him stand and walk over to the place Noface had been sitting, his host watching curiously as the river spirit went over to gaze at the many drawings. His eyes looked over the stone tower, the landmark vaguely familiar to him. His hands flipped over the drawings, pausing at the latest one the masked spirit had been working on.

His eyes were shocked as he noticed a small difference within this new drawing. At the towers top laid the long, slithery body of a black dragon. The river spirit gripped the paper and rushed over to Noface urgently.

"Noface, do you know where Chihiro is?!" He asked of the spirit. The fellow started to nod his head quickly, meaning yes.

"Is she here, with this dragon?" He asked, feeling his knots within his stomach tightening at the other spirit confirmed his question with another yes.

"Haku, where is she?" The witch asked, looking at the new drawing and eyeing the dragon picture curiously.

"With the Koga river spirit. The spirit that deposited a piece of himself into Chihiro, the bastard that got her pregnant." He let the drawing float to the ground, his body twitching at the rage that was consuming him.

"Don't transform in here, you'll break everything!" Zeneba warned, knowing that the river spirit was losing his self control very quickly. "Go, save our Chihiro, Haku!" She urged, wanting the girl saved but also wanting her house to stay in one piece. Like lightning, he was out of the cottage and into the air, morphing faster than he ever had as he started to remember exactly where that tower was located.

'Chihiro! Wait for me, I'm coming!' He prayed as the silver dragon sped through the wind, willing it to take him to his beloved human. Koga had been a sneaky coward, taking her from him during the night. This time he'd finish off the other, Chihiro would have to deal with the bloody scene, Haku was not willing to let the other spirit go this time.

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Things are about to get crazy in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Finding the tower had been the easy part, attempting to enter it had brought forth something unexpected. Haku was knocked back the moment he flew within feet of it. He tried again, ramming towards the stone tower and hitting something he couldn't see, something that propelled his large dragon body away from the tower once more.

-0-0-

"A barrier?" Chihiro repeated what her captor had spoken.

"Yes, a very powerful one, so that there won't be any interruptions once you go into labor. I think on the third try, he'll find that the barrier not only bounces his body back, but zaps him as well." He smiled cruelly at the thought.

"What's the matter, Koga? I thought our bond would make it so that Haku couldn't take me, why the need for other measures?" She taunted him, glad to see his smile vanish.

"You are bonded to me, I'm just making sure Haku doesn't try anything foolish to wipe away our connection." He pursed his lips, arms folding defensively against his bare chest. Chihiro noticed he liked keeping his shirt off, almost as if he were trying to impress her with his physique. She did catch the spirit at the mirror rather often, the vain thing admiring his own egotistical reflection. The boy she had crushed on had never come off vain in the slightest, she supposed he had been a good actor in the human world.

"How's your scar feeling today?" She sassed him, knowing her comment would miff him. For one reason or another, the scar left by Haku had stayed with Koga, it caused him to become very grumpy whenever the girl mentioned it. At least it was a way for her to keep him occupied with himself and not her. She had been good at distracting him so far, keeping his greedy hands and mouth at bay since the fireplace incident.

A loud roar shook the entire tower, making Chihiro gasp and Koga gleefully chuckle. "Third times a charm. That must have caused some damage." He mused out loud, impressed with how his barrier was holding up thus far.

Haku most certainly had felt pain at that, the barrier zapping him with an electrical charge strong enough to kill a rhino. He felt pieces of his scales falling off his skin as he momentarily flew away from the tower. That had been a surprise, he hadn't anticipated a shock of that magnitude. He could smell his own fur singed, some of his smaller whiskers were completely burnt off from the strong electric shock. How was he suppose to tackle this tower now that it was electric? Already three slams in and the spirit was feeling winded. If only he had a way to enhance his powers, even an enhancement to his resilience would be beneficial at this point!

Ever the stubborn and determined type, he launched himself again at the tower. The shock had him falling out of the air, plummeting hard and fast to the ground with a loud thunk. Dust flew everywhere as his body slowly tried to move, if he wasn't careful this tower could easily be the death of him, then Chihiro would truly be trapped forever with Koga.

"I need another plan." He spoke to himself, rising slowly and growling irritably at the tower.

-0-0-

"I can sense him, your savior is leaving, Chihiro." Koga smirked confidently, the young woman shook her head in disbelief.

"Listen, do you hear him roaring anymore?" They both stood quietly, hearing no sound from outside.

"He's given up. Some hero you chose to _love_." She spoke the last word sarcastically, enjoying the hurt it caused to her uncertain eyes.

"Now, how about we take a look at the nursery?" Koga placed a quick and powerful arm around her, guiding the young woman up more stairs to a room she had yet to explore. The stone walls were covered in river scenes, frames of artwork all over the room. In the middle of the room were different shades of blue cushions, made of soft velvet material.

"Where's the changing table, or the crib?" The girl asked, confused as to why the normal things weren't inside the room.

"Do you honestly think it will be a _normal_ baby?" Koga scoffed at her naive assumption.

"Well, I don't know, I've never been pregnant by a _spirit_ before." She pouted, glaring at him for making her feel stupid.

"You're going to bare me a new spirit. It won't need diaper changes or a crib. All it will need is guidance from its wise father." He cockily explained.

"I feel sorry for it, there's no wise father to teach it properly." She commented, bringing his confidence down a notch.

"Funny, Chihiro. Laugh and joke all you like, but when it's born, you'll see just how right I am."

Chihiro smiled at this, privately thinking about how amusing it'd be when the anticipating spirit found his prized offspring unobtainable. Even if Yubaba did have a hand in getting her here with the river spirit, Chihiro still knew the old witch would keep her bargin with her. As soon as Yubaba had the spirit under her control, Chihiro could easily get out of this situation. Koga would be uninterested in her without receiving a new spirit.

-0-0-

"Haku?" Zeniba was surprised to see him back so soon, and without Chihiro in tow. He was roughed up looking, as he made his way towards her. He stopped in front of the witch and knealed before her.

"Zeniba, please let me use your golden seal to win back Chihiro. There's a barrier at the tower that I can't break, I need your help." He was quiet as he waited for the elderly woman to answer him.

"Haku, you stole my seal from me once, and now you seek it's powers again? Well, at least you are _asking_ this time. I don't like lending my things to people, let alone something as powerful as my seal." She paused, watching the young man stay politely bowed before her, "Haku, you can not use my seal without being trained first."

"But Chihiro needs me!" He popped his head up, looking at her pleadingly.

"I'm sorry, but it's how things are. You need to be taught to walk before you can run, the same goes for the magic within my seal. Chihiro is a strong young woman, I doubt the father of her growing child would harm her body until the thing is born. We have enough time that you can rescue her right before the entity is born. But you must promise me, Haku, that my magic seals power will be used to protect, not harm. You get in and get out, lead him to my sisters bathhouse to get zapped if you must, but do not harm him with the new powers you will learn. Promise me, Haku." She searched his face for honesty as the river spirit thought over her words.

"I promise, for Chihiro's sake, I hope you're right about the timing." He grudgingly agreed, the witch nodded her head.

"Of course, I'd never speak falsely about something involving Chihiro's life. Come, if we're to start this, it's best we do it now. Follow me inside, I have some tea that will make you feel more revived." She turned to her home with the young man following behind her.

Zeniba's magic was not meant to permanently harm or kill. It was so powerful because she wasn't corrupt like her sister, she wasn't swayed into doing evil deeds. Haku had been seeking vengeance, a corrupt emotion that he couldn't have if he intended to properly learn and use her magic. There was a lot of training ahead for the river spirit, the witch only hoped he'd be able to preform it all correctly when the time came. His love for Chihiro would help him along his way, but would that be enough?

-0-0-

"I'm hungry." She finally admitted to the spirit, she'd gone long enough without eating that it was now causing her stomach to ache painfully.

Koga looked up from his book he'd been reading, setting it down to stand from his seated position.

"Come, I've plenty of food over here." He started to walk over to yet another room she had yet to encounter.

Steamed rice and curry caught her noses attention as the young woman was lead into a dining area. A low table with cushions surrounding it, had a bountiful amount of food upon it. Sliced pork with sesame seeds, crab cakes and egg rolls. Numerous amounts of traditional food lay before them. The spiky haired spirit took a seat at the head of the table, watching with amused eyes as Chihiro practically drooled all over herself at the delicious array of delicacy's.

"Sit, eat up. You'll need your strength." The young man commented, Chihiro sat away from him, dishing up plentiful amounts and chowing down on the morsels.

"You know, it doesn't have to be a negative experience here, Chihiro." The young man spoke towards his prisoner. "I'm quite enjoyable to be around, if you'd only let go of your feelings for _Haku_. You liked me well enough in the human world, I'm not all that different." He made mention, the girl humphed and attempted to ignore him.

"I don't suppose you'll ever let go of your fondness towards him, will you? At least not right away." Koga commented.

"More like not _ever_." She replied while eating, slurping down her food eagerly.

"Ah, but hearts _do_ change. When the time comes, you'll see the type of spirit Haku really is." He picked up a steaming cup of tea from the table and began to sip. Chihiro glared as she ate, unimpressed with his words.

-0-0-

Haku had done errands for Yubaba and had learned spells here and there from the witch, but she had never trained him the way Zeniba was doing so right now.

She had him running an obstacle course, using certain spells for specific obstacles. Testing his skills, demanding all of his focus and stamina. Hours went by until the witch halted him, stating that he was finally ready for a sampling of the seals power.

"Do you see that shriveled up tree? It's been like that for many years now. What I want you to do, is take a firm hold of my seal, concentrate on that tree, and pour life into it." She explained to her pupil.

"Pour life into it?" He repeated the words. It wasn't as if reanimating things was a hard concept, but after a while the spell wore off and it was back to it'd previously deceased or unmoving self.

"Use the thought of Chihiro to help you channel the spell. Your love for her will make it easier to tap into the seals power and bring life to the tree. Go on, give it a try." She handed over he golden seal and watched as the young man walked over to the object.

'Pour life into it.' He mused inside his mind as he began to concentrate, holding the seal with one hand while placing the other upon the dead tree.

Slowly, he felt a warmth coming off of the magic seal. This was taken as a positive sign as the spirit took even breaths, controlling his magic and urging the tree to become filled with life once more. His urgency caused the seal to heat up in his hand so fiercely, the object began burning his palm, making the spirit drop the seal. Dropping the seal stopped the spell completely, making Haku yell out in both pain and frustration.

"You were pushy, you need to have patience with this magic, ask it to work, don't just demand it." The witch calmly explained to him what needed to be done, for the spell to work properly.

"Chihiro is alone, with _Koga_. I have a very hard time with patience when that image haunts my mind." Haku admitted his inner troubles, to which he found little sympathy from Zeniba.

"Clear your mind of it, Haku. You'll never get past the barrier if you don't. Chihiro needs her rightful river spirit, but until you are able to truly help her, you are going to have to let go of your worries about her. Concentrate on the task at hand." She urged him, handing him the dropped seal once more, "Try again."

-0-0-

With Haku otherwise occupied, Yubaba was beginning to bring back her old ways of doing things around the bathhouse. Marching around during business hours and ordering around the servants rudely. Making snide comments to the workers and sucking up to the visiting guests, making the revenue higher than usual but the moral low among her unamused minions.

Lin was brave enough to talk back to the witch, making comments of her own about how Haku would be _very_ displeased by her actions around the bathhouse. Her remarks were met with unpleasant orders, the mouthy Lin was put to work on the most ornery of spirits, making her life unpleasant as she received rude remarks from the frisky and ornery spirits that would tug her hair as she passed by. They would splash her with their bath water, burp in her face, and worse of all, some would slap her on the ass.

Things were harder on Kamaji as well, his job had been less stressful because Haku had asked the staff to try and spread out their water orders. Now Yubaba was getting on everyone's case about rushing in orders, pulling the cords herself sometimes to prove a point with her slow moving staff. He was busting his hump, trying to take care of five bath tokens at once on a regular basis, sometimes even six! His soot sprites helped greatly but still he was a wiped out mess at the end of the evening, sleeping hard once his tired head hit his pillow.

He hardly had any opportunity to eat even, when he did it was at least Lin who delivered his meal. They'd both complain to one another about Yubaba's latest actions around the bathhouse, and wonder about Haku and Chihiro's location. Would the river spirit return soon to correct the disorder around here? Was Chihiro back in her own world, or did she get lost somewhere within the spirit realm?

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki


	7. Chapter 7

Chihiro was feeling an assortment of emotions, anger at being stuck inside the confining tower with the bane of her existence; Koga. Sorrowful when night came and she sat alone in her designated room, fearing that maybe her Haku had truly given up on her, or that maybe he wasn't powerful enough to free her from this prison. She would become exasperated when the spirit that held her there started his onslaught of advances, touching her here and there seductively, surprising her from behind and whispering into her ear very naughty ideas. In short, he was a creep.

She was always able to back him off, bringing up made up flaws that she pretended to notice, wiping that suave look off his face as the paranoid spirit ran over to the nearest mirror; the pansy. As days turned into weeks, Chihiro started to notice something odd about her skin. At night it was the most noticeable, she'd look at her stomach and notice that part of her flesh had a bit of a glow to it. As her due date neared, the glowing got more prominent, now able to notice it during the daytime as well.

Koga spoke not a word about it, this new glow about her, frustrating the young woman because she wanted to know if this development was normal. It frightened her, this strange happening, it could mean anything! Was it the spirits world way of letting someone know they had cancer? Ridiculous as that sounded, it was an honest to goodness worry for Chihiro. So much of this world was unexplained, she had only known a fraction of things about it. If only the smug faced river spirit would indulge her, enlighten the young woman for pity's sake!

Final she had been silent enough, Chihiro marched one morning right up to the river spirit, lifted up her already short shirt, and pointed a finger directly at her glowing tummy. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She demanded, tried of coming up with scary ideas, wanting a damn answer.

He stood and looked at it, as if just now noticing how her flesh glowed, the ass! He made a bunch of hmm noises, before taking a hand and touching her flesh. His hands felt incredibly cold, making the woman shiver and gasp.

"Cold!" She shrieked, backing away from the icy touch. Of course he just kept following her, holding his hand steadily against her flat tummy. He held a peculiar smile on his face, as if he knew of a secret.

"Well?!" She chided, tired of his silence and ready for the guy to get his chilling hands off.

"It's getting ready, Chihiro." He smiled excitedly at her, to which the girl only stared dumbly at the spirit.

"Ready? How about being more specific." She groaned, making the other chuckle at her moody look upon her face.

"It's readying itself for life, for it's exit. I'd say three days or so more and it will be here." He informed the less than pleased Chihiro.

"It hasn't been that long!" She tried arguing.

"It's almost been a month, Chihiro. Four months is a typical cycle for new spirits." He casually explained.

"I don't believe this! Haku should be here by now, he has to!" Chihiro pouted openly to the unimpressed Koga.

"Still counting on him, eh? Poor Chihiro, you've bet on the losing horse." He shook his head, "There's still time to change your bets, Chihiro. Choose a winner, you're bound to me either way, but it would be so much nicer if you were happy with our bond." He watched as the young woman pursed her lips, her slender brows furrowed irritably, cheeks a rosy red due to her frustration. An adorable sight to witness, the spirit took his hand from her stomach and placed it against one of her warm cheeks.

"You could love me too, Chihiro." He offered, smiling affectionately towards her.

"I love Haku." She stated her stance, moving from his touch, grateful that he didn't follow her this time.

"For now." He shrugged, still within the mindset that she would change, hearts left alone were easy to break and find shelter elsewhere. In his absence, Haku was only making Koga's desires easier to achieve. Sure, the spirit truly wanted this new offspring to teach and control, but he also found that it wouldn't bother him to have the mother of his child as true mate, not just a prisoner within his home. Humans held a breaking point, when it came to matters of the heart, Koga had yet to hit Chihiro's. He was patient, though. Sooner or later, the girl would open up to his offers of affection.

-0-0-

"This is harassment!" Lin shouted towards Yubaba, knowing the witch had witnessed the grubby faced spirit Lin was attending touch her inappropriately.

"Haven't you ever heard that the customer is always right?" Yubaba snapped, unwilling to stop the randy behavior going on between spirit and server.

"If Haku was here..." Lin began.

"Well he isn't! He's abandoned all of you, so get use to it!" The wrinkled faced witch shouted these words for everyone to hear.

No one was happy to have Yubaba in charge, all the servers loathed her mean ways, and wished for their Master Haku to return. The witch was even ignoring her son's threats of hating her if she continued to be mean to everyone, the witch was behaving odd in that respect. Her baby was use to her always wanting him happy with her, now that he had aged, and was more child like, his mother seemed less and less enthralled with him.

"Momma, I'm gonna tell on you to aunt Zeniba!" Yubaba's son threatened his mother, the words getting her attention at last. "I mean it!" He huffed, tired of watching everyone suffer because of his cruel mother.

"Zeniba wouldn't dare to come here. Now stop bugging mommy and go take a nap or eat something!" She shooed her son off, unimpressed with his warning.

-0-0-

Haku was on the verge of mastering the seal that made Zeniba so powerful. He had finally brought the dead tree back to life, a task that had taken great skill and patience. Zeniba was about to show him the final art of controlling the seals magic, when a very large bird carrying a heavy toddler on it appeared in the sky.

It was Yubaba's son, both Haku and Zeniba paused their lesson and met the worried face youth halfway. The large bird he rode in on landed heavily to the dirt, a few feet away from Zeniba's home. The kindly witch greeted her guest warmly, hugging the plump child and asking him if everything was alright.

"Momma's being mean, Haku! Come back to the bathhouse, we need you!" He implored, looking towards the river spirit desperately.

"I can't, not until I've finished learning everything from Zeniba. Once I do, I can rescue Chihiro and then we'll both return to fix Yubaba's mess." He promised the dissatisfied child.

"Everyone's miserable! Why can't you just come now?!" He whined, his behavior surprising both adults.

"Well, Haku is almost done. When I show him my last lesson, maybe I can go back with you and try to make sure your mommy hasn't harmed too many innocent bathhouse workers." Zeniba tried compromising.

"She's started turning humans into pigs again, Haku! She even started eating some of them!"

"what?!" Haku was shocked and outraged.

"See? You got to come back!" The boy insisted.

Zeniba and Haku shared a silent glance, hearing this news was beyond disturbing. "Haku, my final lesson is a simple one. You don't need to preform any tasks or exercises. All I have to do is touch you, and let my final knowledge seep into you. Are you ready? Yubaba needs dealt with, I'll meet you and Chihiro at the bathhouse once you've rescued her." The kindly witch watched as Haku readily agreed, her wrinkled hand reached out and touched his forehead.

-0-0-

She was looking through Koga's books, reading the titles on his many shelves, deciding on what to read as she waited out her imprisonment, when her body gave her a surprise pain. Her hand clasping a book by its spine, the girl leaned against the shelf, riding out the pain until it passed.

"The Hell?!" She gasped, her book free hand touching her always glowing tummy. It hit her again, the severe abdominal pain, causing her to fall to the ground, her hand pulling the book out of its slot, letting it thunk to the ground as she entered a fetal position, gasping in pain.

The noise had reached her captors ears, the shirtless Koga walking in and staring curiously at the grounded human, watching her moan and groan.

"It's time, Chihiro!" He exclaimed excitedly, watching eagerly as she rolled onto her back, rubbing her tummy that was beginning to glow brighter and brighter. A heat was forming inside her, making her nauseous and sweaty. She had comprehended his words, but the pain had made her unable to speak. Her mouth was too busy moaning and crying at the discomfort she was feeling.

"Come, new spirit! Be among us!" He cried joyously, kneeling down beside Chihiro and watching the glow intensify. Soon Chihiro could see nothing, the brightness around them making her temporally blind. As she felt her pain get to another level of intensity, her mind wandered to her mother. How had she gone through such a dreadful experience? Childbirth sucked ass! Her mom probably never hurt this bad, having a spirit child probably made the experience ten times worse! Still, Chihiro had a growing respect for other child bearers as she was in the process of becoming one herself.

In a strange flash, the light was gone and an unusual mist rose from her. Chihiro's sweaty face looked upon a somewhat see through abnormality that held her facial features. A essence she knew was of her and Koga's making, a newly made spirit, and it had her face! It was there one moment, and then suddenly it just vanished.

"What?" Koga rose from his kneeled position, his head spinning around, trying to look for the being.

"Young one, come out!" He cried, leaving her completely to search the tower.

Chihiro knew where the spirit had gone, though now after seeing it, noticing it held her resemblance, she was feeling a pang of guilt in choosing to let Yubaba take it. She could hear Koga distantly, calling out to the thing in vain. Her eyes looked about her, as she tried to move. Feeling still weak and woozy, she crawled towards the shelf and used it to inch by inch stand up. Her face looking upon the book titles as she slowly rose, her movement stopping as her eyes took in a strange sight. Where her book had been, there was a strange glow. What in the world could this be?

"Chihiro!" She heard her name roared out, the dope must by now assume she had something to do with his new spirits disappearance.

Curious as to what the glow was, she ignored the roaring anger of Koga nearing, and placed a hand inside the glow.

"Where is it?!" He demanded, the words being the last she heard as a odd force unknown to her pulled the human inside the shelf. Her eyes closed in fear as she felt her body and soul pulled at, removing her from Koga's presence.

-0-0-

Right as the angry spirit watched his human disappear, a loud thundering caught his attention, followed by his whole home shaking as if experiencing an earthquake! The shelf toppled over, so strong was the shake, his handy portal broken as he watched the wood shelf break in the fall.

"No!" He roared in outraged, his body transforming in his anger.

The towers shaking halted, Koga took this time to exit the home by using the window, this scaly form slithering out and his irate eyes searching for the cause of his homes damage.

Haku was in his human form, standing at the towers door, looking up at the flying dragon. Koga flew down, gracefully landing a few feet in front of the other, his fangs poised and ready.

"I've come for Chihiro. Give her to me." He commanded of the sneering dragon. Koga's tail whipped out at his enemy, the other dodged, still keeping his promise of not causing harm to the dragon.

"Why so hesitant to fight, Haku? I've had your beloved Chihiro all to myself this whole time, she's quite the dirty little whore." He provoked Haku, watching as the other closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Where is she?" Haku spoke evenly, opening his eyes which held fiery contempt.

"Too late, she's gone." Koga informed the disbelieving other. "She's done something with my new spirit, I intend on finding the sneaky slut and retrieving what's rightfully mine. Too bad you can't go into the human world, Haku." He laughed at the spirit who couldn't travel between worlds.

"You're not going anywhere, Koga." Haku let his body form into the long, lean figured dragon. He realized that he had made a promise to Zineba, but if he only used his old powers to get Haku to chase him, perhaps his promise could still be kept. Haku was willing to try it and see what happened afterwords.

-0-0-

"What do you think you're doing here? This is my place of business, you're not welcome!" Yubaba yelled at her visitor, Zeniba. The twin had arrived with her son, the little traitor, Yubaba wasn't going to let her sister interrupt daily life within her precious bathhouse.

"I'm not pleased to be here, sister, but your son has informed me that you've been causing chaos wherever you go within the bathhouse. Haku is coming here shortly to have a few words with you about all your deeds." Zeniba warned her grumpy sibling.

"When will all you people get it in your thick heads that this is MY bathhouse, not Haku's!" Yubaba yelled angerily for everyone to hear, "Let him come, I'm not going to get bullied by that bastard any longer!" She humphed, crossing her arms afterwords.

Zeniba was about to lecture her sister even more, when the pissy twin got a strange look about her wrinkled face. Suddenly she was rushing away from Zeniba! Hauling ass through crowds of servers and heading up flights of stairs.

-0-0-

Yubaba made it to her private rooms just in time, the misty being appearing before her as she watched in growing anticipation. The new spirit was hers! That little brat had no clue the powerful thing she had handed over to Yubaba. With this fresh spirit, Yubaba could conquer any thing that got in her way! As the mist began to settle and take shape, her plastered smile began to fade as she looked upon an all too familiar face. This spirit held Chihiro's face. The face of the little girl she absolutely hated!

"Mother?" it's wispy voice called out to the witch, bringing Yubaba out of her shocked state.

"That's right, sweetie, I'm your new mommy. Mommy has lots of plans for you..." Yubaba smiled coyly. Chihiro was a fool, this spirit would have been dedicated to her, but now, all that devotion was going to be towards Yubaba. . .

-0-0-

Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.


End file.
